"A O Henry Christmas" takes the stage December 3! Cape May Stage offers a musical event to warm you up for the holidays!

The final production of the 2009 season opens tonight and the entire audience is invited to party with the actors and crew after the performance at the Brown Room in Congress Hall Hotel! "An O. Henry Christmas" features a cast from New York and Hollywood with voices that will delight every audience member. This is the perfect cap to a season that had all of Cape May talking about the new quality of productions at Cape May Stage.

The actors from "Master Harold... and the Boys" have returned to their homes. Gregg Daniel is shooting Allan Ball's "New Blood" for HBO while rehearsing "Fences" for South Coast Repertory in California. Larry Hines has been offered a two year job in "The Rat Pack" in Las Vegas but is deciding whether he wants to be available to do more great work like he did here at Cape May Stage. Jared McGuire is juggling multiple offers back in New York.

Meanwhile, "An O. Henry Christmas" is performing at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse Thursdays thru Sundays at 8PM and with matinees at 3PM on Saturdays and Sundays. Jason Ostrowski played on Broadway in "Company" and Bev Appleton just completed a feature film with Cloris Leachman. Tara Brown comes to us from Los Angeles after working in Disney musicals and Courtnay Griswold just played Maria in "The Sound of Music". Artistic Director, Roy Steinberg spotted Tara Brown a year ago in Los Angeles singing in "A Christmas Carol" that was transported to Chicago. He knew that "An O. Henry Christmas" was planned to close this season and offered her a role after that performance! Our season started with a musical play in "Souvenir" and ends with "An O. Henry Christmas". We have had all sorts of plays this season from comedies like "Social Security" to dramas like "Proof" and now we end with a family oriented musical that will warm your hearts as we enter the holiday season. Director Chuck Hudson has a long list of opera and musical theatre credits from across the country and Music Director Eric Walton is a well regarded New York Music Director. Cape May Stage continues to bring in top artists both on and back stage.

As a final treat, we will be producing the spellbinding "Intimate Evening of Grand Parlour Magic" with Michael Russell Walsh and Johnny Mass. They will mystify your mind with their unique blend of sleight-of-hand magic and comedy! They will perform on the evening of Wednesday, December 30 at 8PM and the afternoon of December 31 at 2PM. Come be astonished by magic and then charmed by "An O. Henry Christmas". The Second Stage offers this final magic act on the last day of our season as a theatrical treat to greet the new year!

Last Chance for "Master Harold...and the Boys" Before We Usher in Our Holiday Show!

On Saturday, November 28 the last performance of "Master Harold...and the boys" will grace our stage. Immediately following that performance a whirlwind of activity sweeps through Cape May Stage as that set is taken down and the actors pack up their dressing rooms and the floor gets painted to get ready for "An O. Henry Christmas" which opens on December 3! If you have not seen "Master Harold...and the boys" yet, get on the phone and call 884-1341 to make a reservation. These amazing actors will be traveling back to New York and Hollywood. Gregg Daniel immediately goes into rehearsal for August Wilson's "Fences" at the South Coast Repertory in California. Now his bio will include all those feature films and television shows and major Shakespearean roles AND playing Sam in "Master Harold..and the boys" at Cape May Stage!

Seniors have a special night on Friday, November 27 to see this extraordinary production! These nights often sell fast so book your tickets as soon as possible.

If you hear beautiful voices coming out of the Shackleton Theatre in the middle of the afternoon, you are overhearing the rehearsals for "An O. Henry Christmas" which previews on December 2 and opens the following night. Those attending opening night are in for a double treat. Once again, actors from Broadway and Hollywood are performing at Cape May Stage. Jason Ostrowski appeared on Broadway in the recent revival of "Company". Bev Appleton just finished shooting a feature film with Cloris Leachman. Courtnay Griswold starred as Maria in "The Sound of Music" and Tara Brown comes to us from LA after working for Disney! The musical director and stage director are both from New York! Chuck Hudson is our director and he has a long list of opera and musical credits. The extra treat on opening night is that our audiences are always invited to the opening night party to mingle with the cast and crew.

The big news is that overwhelming demand has caused us to schedule two matinees during the week! Every Saturday and every Sunday at 3 PM will have a matinee followed by an evening performance. What a marvelous way to celebrate the holidays! At the very end of the month the Second Stage Series wants to create some magic as we go off to 2010 so we have a Victorian Magic Show in our parlour on December 30 and a matinee on December 31. New Year's Eve will be our last performance of "An O. Henry Christmas". A bit of magic and gorgeous voices is the perfect way to usher in the new year!